Flight of The Sundered
by dontmissthis
Summary: When Jane and Maura are on their way home from a dead end case, they encounter something they never expected. Will they leave their family to grieve or will they somehow manage to make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow, yeah another fic. Review if you feel like it. I love hearing what you have to say!**

…

Jane finally manages a glance out the window. The night sky is almost constantly illuminated a slight gray from the constant barrage of lightning strikes. She grips Maura's hand and the armrest so tight her knuckles turn white.

She hates flying. Absolutely _hates_ it. She's going to have Frost's ass when they get back to Boston. She'll never understand how she let him convince her to go on a wild goose chase in the middle of _Oregon_ for a murder they're probably never going to solve.

They hit another patch of turbulence and she closes her eyes to wait it out. This can't be good. She uneasily looks over at Maura. "Is this supposed to happen? Isn't this dangerous?"

Maura gives a sympathetic half smile and rubs her thumb across the back of Jane's hand. "No, turbulence itself isn't dangerous. It occurs quite often, actually."

Jane—thankful that Maura didn't go into anything more specific—takes a deep breath and tentatively nods. She leans back further in her seat and thinks of anything to distract herself.

"When is Nick's recital?"

Realizing what Jane is trying to do, she gives an encouraging smile. "Next Friday."

Jane leg nervously starts to shake up and down and she teasingly rolls her eyes. "I can't believe you let our _son _take gymnastics."

She honestly doesn't care what he does, as long as he's happy. It took her years to figure out that what she needed to be truly happy was right in front of her eyes and all she needed to do was get over the fear of judgment to get it. She's not going to let her son have that same fear hold him back.

Maura gently squeezes her hand. "The chance of being involved in a plane crash is only 1 in 11 million, Jane. That means we will most likely arrive in Boston unharmed. We'll be able to see him perform, don't worry."

As soon as she finishes her sentence, they hit another wave of turbulence and Jane visibly pales. "I'm never flying again. Ever."

"Not even for vacation next year?"

Jane can tell Maura's trying to deflect, but it's definitely not working this time. "Nope. We're driving."

Maura lightly laughs. "To Hawaii?"

Jane scowls. Now is not the time for Maura to decide she knows how to joke around. She looks out the window and watches as another bolt of lightning slashes through the sky. "What happens if we, y'know, get hit by that?"

Maura pulls out a magazine and lays it on her lap to look at since she's not interested in the movie that's playing. "Typically nothing as long as there are no gaps in the aluminum encasing of the plane. The only real problem occurs if there is an electrical system disruption or hole in the fuselage." She glances up and frowns. "Or if the lightning causes a fuel tank explosion."

Jane's whole body tensions and Maura shakes her head. "No, no. That's very rare. You shouldn't be worried about that."

Jane scoffs. "How can I not be worried when you just said the fucking plane is about to explode?"

The person in front of them looks over their seat, eyes wide. It probably wasn't very smart to say something like that on a plane anymore. Jane grimaces and looks off to the floor. There's really not even a way to explain that away without making it worse.

The person finally turns back around and Maura scowls. "That's not what I said and you know it."

Normally getting Maura aggravated would be a hobby of sorts, but not now. Not when Jane's barely brave enough to breathe without thinking it'll cause a crash. Instead of a smartass comeback, she starts watching the dumb movie that's playing to distract herself. Just when she's getting into it and calming down, Maura decides to play '101 facts Jane could live without knowing.'

"The people located in the back of the plane closest to the exits are forty percent more likely to survive if something were to happen." She looks up at Jane and tilts her head with a proud smile on her lips. "Did you know that?"

"No, Maura. I did not. _Please_, tell me more." Jane rolls her eyes and leans her head back against the seat. She'd really rather not talk about this anymore.

Maura pulls her hand from Jane's grasp flips the magazine page so hard it almost rips. "Fine. If you don't want to know things that might—"

She gets interrupted by a loud thud and Jane's eyes shoot open. The cabin fills with worried murmurs and the lights flicker. Jane's mouth goes bone dry and she breaks out in a cold sweat. "What…what was that?"

Maura licks her lips and looks around. "I don't know."

"You don't _know_ or you're not going to guess?"

Maura looks at Jane with a face that's also a little paler than usual. "Both. I don't…it could've been anything." She looks around the cabin once more. The lights are on again and nothing looks to be out of the ordinary. Surely if it was something bad, they would've told them already.

Right?

The lights flicker once more and Jane feels herself start to hyperventilate. The flight attendants run down the aisle to get to their seats without stopping to talk to anyone. Maura feels her chest tighten and she looks at Jane with wide eyes. She doesn't rely on instinct, so she can't decisively say this is bad. But she _can_ make sure they're both prepared in case something bad were to happen. She takes Jane's hand and then points up her other one. "If something happens, oxygen masks are going to fall down from there. If something happens to me, make sure to put yours on first."

"But—"

"No. You have to put yours on first or you'll pass out and then we'll both be without." She pulls tighter on her lap belt and makes sure Jane's is secured across her pelvic bone. The lights flicker again and she briefly looks up before looking back at Jane's panic-stricken face. "To prepare for impact, bend forward and put your chest on your thighs and your head between your knees. Cross your wrists in front of your lower calves and grab your ankles. Make sure to place your legs as far under the seat as possible to avoid breaking your shins. You won't be able to exit the plane if you can't walk."

Jane takes a few quick, shallow breaths. "Maura, if you know what's going on, you better tell me right now. I don't fucking care if it means you have to guess, you better tell me because you're freaking me the hell out."

Maura looks around as the lights stay off for a longer amount of time than before and there's another loud thud. She looks back at Jane and shakes her head. "I really don't know, Jane. I don't. I…I just want to make sure you're prepared, okay? If nothing happens, I promise you can make fun of me for over-reacting once we arrive home. But right now, let me make sure you know what to do. Just in case."

Jane tersely nods, too fear stricken to do anything else.

"After impact you need to get out as quickly as possible—if fire or smoke is present, you will generally have less than two minutes to safely exit the plane." The lights are at a continual flicker now and Maura hurries to dump the contents of the bags resting at their feet together. "Try to get at least 500 feet upwind from the aircraft. Fire or explosion can happen at any time after a crash, so try not to stay too close to it."

Jane clutches Maura's hand like it's her lifeline as the lights go off completely and the plane starts to drop. People and children are yelling and screaming and it's all she can do not to get sick. She wishes they were anywhere, _anywhere _but here. Preferably at home with Nicky playing his favorite video games like they always did together.

Jane's chest clutches at the thought.

Nicky.

The lights finally come back on and the plane stops its decent. Jane thickly swallows and looks over to Maura, tears already brimming in her eyes. "Wha—what about Nicky? He's not…I don't want him to grow up without any parents, Maura. We can't do that to him."

Maura's eyes start watering now, too. "I don't want that either. But Angela…she'll take care of him. She'll raise him just as well as she raised you. Just like he's one of her own. I have no doubts about that."

There's another unbelievably loud noise and the plane starts to shake. "He'll…he'll never be alone. Everyone loves him, Jane. They'll take care of him even if we are no longer there to do so."

Jane's brow knits as a tear finally makes it way down her cheek. There's a time for strong and stoic, but sitting on a plane that's going down, that's just not the time. "I just…God, Maura," she barely chokes out through a strangled whisper. "I love you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you every single day. I should have. I love you so much."

A child starts screaming and Maura bites her lip to keep from crying. "I love you too, Jane. More than you know."

Jane can't help but bitterly laugh. She's lived through serial killers, stabbings, and shootings and now a plane crash is going to kill her. She wipes her face and looks over at Maura who's now visibly sobbing.

"Jane, I'm not ready to die. I know it's inevitable, but I'm not ready yet."

"I—"

Before she can finish, the masks drop from the overhead compartment and the lights finally go out for good. The plane is shaking harder now as they pull on their masks and intertwine their fingers in a vice-like grip.

Jane's stomach drops as the plane quickly tilts and spins into a nosedive towards the ground.

She's not ready to die yet either.

…..

…..

**Special thanks to keepcalmandread for hearing out my crazy ideas. Please leave a review if you'd like! They do make my day. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, this chapter jumps to Angela's POV. **

…

Nicky swings his short legs back and forth under his seat—little corduroy pants ridding up with each kick out and back. He licks the orange cheese off his fingers from Cheetos that Maura never lets him eat and then takes a sip from his grape juice. Looking up at Angela with those deep brown eyes that get him almost anything he wants, he hands the empty snack bag to her. "How much longer? I'm ready for Mommy."

Angela smiles at the slight begging tone of his voice. "They'll be here soon, Nicky. Don't you worry."

He smacks his lips together and nods before dropping off the hard seat to the floor. He digs around in Angela's bag until he finds his Snow White coloring book and crayons. After climbing back up on the seat, he sets it on his lap and makes sure to open it to a spot that had pictures on both pages. Holding out a blue crayon to her, he gives her a dimpled smile. "You color her and I'll color Doc because he's like Mommy." He playfully rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders. "Well 'cept he's a boy."

Angela laughs as she starts coloring Snow White's dress. He is so much like Jane, but he absolutely adores Maura. From her love of clothes to her favorite opera music and ballet performances, he loves them all just as much. There's been many times where she's walked into the house to see him standing on the counter singing an Italian opera in his favorite suit while Maura cooked or walked in to see him doing a reenactment of a ballet they had went to see the night before.

Not to say he doesn't love Jane, though. She's his rough and tumble buddy, the person he goes to when he's ready to release his pent up energy by playing video games or basketball with the mini goal in the play room. He goes along with whatever childish plans Jane comes up with, no matter how absurd. There's been more than one occasion where Maura's laughed at things she should probably be upset about when it comes to them; like the time she came home after their impromptu flour fight in the kitchen or when she came home and saw painted handprints covering Bass's shell.

He's the perfect mix of them both; happy and playful while still being serious and smart. He looks up at her with a frown as he realizes he accidently colored outside of the lines. "Can you believe that shit, Mimi? Happens every time."

She gasps and then holds back a laugh. She tries to look stern and raises her eyebrows. "Nicky! You shouldn't say that. Your Mommy wouldn't like that."

His eyes get wide. He doesn't want Maura to be upset with him. "But Mama says it all the time!"

_Of course she does. _Angela closes her eyes and waves down at his paper. "Just…I don't know _what_ I'm going to do with you."

"Take me to the zoo?"

Her eyes crack open and she starts laughing at the faux innocent smile on his face. She can never deny him anything. "Maybe next week," she points at him, "_If_ you're a good boy and don't say anymore bad words."

He exaggeratedly nods. "You have my word, Mimi. Scouts honor."

It's all she can do not to laugh even more. What she wouldn't give to know where he learns where to say things like that. They color in silence for a few more minutes until Frankie finally saunters up with a confused look on his face. "Ma, why'd you tell me to get here so early?"

She looks down at her watch and then back up. "What do you mean, early? The plane lands in fifteen minutes!"

Shaking his head, he raises one eyebrow and points over his shoulder. "No way, Ma. The screen says it's been delayed. Didn't you check before you told me to 'get your ass over here right this instant to help your sister with her bags'?"

She rolls her eyes at his high-pitched impression of her. She does _not_ sound like that. "Of course I checked! What do you think I am, stupid?"

He pushes his lips together and raises his eyebrows. "Well, the screen _does_ say it's delayed, so…"

Crossing her arms, she glares at him. "No need to be a smartass, Frankie. Your mother can be wrong sometimes, too. Nobody's perfect."

"Obviously," he mutters under his breath.

She still hears it though and tries to reach out to swat his arm. "You might as well stay since you're already here. I'm sure Nicky would love to spend some time with his favorite uncle."

Nicky looks up with his eyebrows furrowed. "I like Tommy more. He gives me candy under the table at dinner."

Frankie grabs his chest in mock pain. "Rip a man's heart out, would ya?" He ruffles Nicky's dark black hair before sitting beside him. "I guess I'll have to step it up, won't I? What can I do to even it up?"

Nicky looks up, eyes shining. "I want a puppy dog. Jo is old and smelly and tries to pee on my shoes."

"Oh, no. _Anything_ but the shoes." Frankie feigns terror before laughing. "I'll see what I can do, little man. You drive a tough bargain."

He nods before looking back down to his coloring book. "Mama says you have to 'stick it to 'em' or else you're just a big pussycat."

Angela starts choking on her water. Jane is definitely in for an earful when she got back—no grandson of hers is going to talk like that. She watches the clock as the minutes slowly turn into an hour and then into two. Nicky is getting restless and—no surprise—so is Frankie. By the time she decides to go ask about the flight, Frankie is holding Nicky up in the air and jogging up and down the halls so he feels like he's flying.

She grabs her purse and makes her way down the corridor until she's at a front desk. Tapping her fingers on the faux marble, she waits until the young girl finally looks up from the computer. "I'm Angela Rizzoli and I was wondering when flight 415 will get here? My grandson is getting a little rambunctious," she laughs and waves her hand in the air absently, "You know how boys are."

The woman goes a little pale before nodding and abruptly standing up. "One moment, ma'am. I'll…I'll just go find someone that can answer your questions."

Angela's eyebrows knit as she watches the young girl scurry off. The other workers start staring at her and she scowls. "What? You've never seen a worried mother before?"

They quickly turn back to their computers without saying another word. She shifts from foot to foot until the woman comes back following an young man with light brown hair wearing a crispy starched suit. He walks up to her and skips greetings all together. "Mrs. Rizzoli, please follow me so we can talk about the arrival of flight 415 in a more private area."

Her stomach drops. Something bad has happened, she can feel it. And her Mother's intuition is never wrong. She follows him on shaky legs until they arrive in a stark white room with only a table and a few chairs inside. He holds his hands out to one of the seats for her to take before sitting in one across from her.

He flips open a manila folder and taps his pen against the table before looking up at her. "Angela Rizzoli. Mother of Jane Rizzoli, I presume?"

Her mouth opens and closes and she tries to see what's written on the paper. He pulls it back and holds up his hand. "Please just answer the question."

"Well, yes of course I'm her mother! What's going on here?"

Sighing, he flips the folder shut and crosses his arms. He frowns and then looks up at her. "I'm afraid to say that flight 415 appears to have crashed only hours after takeoff. We're doing all that we can, but…"

"But what?" Tears are prickling in Angela's eyes and she's shaking her head in denial. "What…what about my girls? Please tell me my babies are okay."

His lips turn down at the corners and he gives a defeated sigh. "We don't know."

It all feels so surreal, like this shouldn't be happening, but her hands are starting to shake and her throat is constricting and her breath is coming in short bursts. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

He's never had to do this before in his life and he hopes he never has to. Seeing someone's world fall apart in front of him? It's definitely the worst thing he's ever experienced. He clears his throat and leans forward towards her to show compassion. "We haven't been able to locate the aircraft at this time. It appears that a storm managed to push them off course and interfere with the electronics. We're doing all that we can to locate it, but without a signal…it's all but impossible in this weather without knowing where to look."

Anger quickly replaces her fear. She slams her hand down on the table and stands up to look down at him. "What do you _mean _you can't find it? It's a plane! It shouldn't be that hard to find!"

He audibly swallows and leans back in his seat in an attempt to get away from the fire that's almost visibly burning in her eyes. "Yes, Mrs. Rizzoli…we are aware of that. Like I said, we are trying our best—"

"—Well your best isn't good enough," she spits out at him. No one, _no one_ messes with her children and gets away with it. And as far as she's concerned, someone that's not doing their damnedest to help them is someone that's messing with them. She angrily points her finger at him and sternly glares. "I expect a call as soon as you even _suspect_ finding them. Do you understand?"

He meekly nods and she defiantly puts her purse strap on her shoulder and turns to leave, but abruptly turns back to him, chin held high. "And you_ better _find them if you know what's good for you."

She slams the door behind her as she walks out to find Frankie and Nicky. She may not be able to physically go out and search for Jane and Maura, but she could certainly pray for them and that's exactly what she planned on the whole family doing—every minute of every hour— until they were found.

…

…

**The next chapter should be up shortly! Aren't you just so excited to see what really happened to Jane and Maura? (;**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay. This may not be the way some were expecting. Italics are flashbacks/dreams about things that really happened. **

…

_She slowly cracks her eyes open but almost immediately shuts them. She's so dizzy that it feels like her whole body is spinning and any tiny movement will make her sick. Her lungs are filling with smoke and remnants of dirt in the air and she starts to cough. It hurts too badly, too painful that she almost starts to cry as she gasps and struggles to breathe. _

_She's been shot, stabbed, more things than she can count. But this…this is too much. She reaches up to put her hand on where the seat in front of her should be, but it isn't there anymore. Her arm falls and limply hangs at her side and brushes against soft fabric. _

_Only then does everything catch up with her: the flight, the storm, the crash. Her eyes wretch open and she instantly turns her head to look for Maura. The movement is too quick and almost sends her retching. She has to wait a few minutes for the black spots in her vision to fade before she can finally focus. _

_But when she does, it feels like her heart stops. Maura's slumped over against the broken seat in front of them—blood is thickly clumped on the side of her head, sharply contrasting with her light hair. Jane winces as she reaches out to grab Maura's arm and gently tries to rouse her. _

"_Maura…" _

_Her voice is barely a whisper, cracking in the very middle of the name. She clears her throat and tries again, but it's no use. There's no way Maura would be able to hear it even if she were awake. Jane gasps as she one-handedly undoes the seatbelt. She can't help but wince and whimper as she slowly pulls herself up to a hunched over standing position. _

_She looks up towards the front of the plane, but it isn't there either. Neither is the middle section if she's being honest with herself. It's still dark and rainy outside and she really doesn't want to leave what little shelter they're in, but it's too dangerous to stay there. She remembers Maura saying something about needing to get out after a few minutes and going wayward or starboard or upwind…that part she couldn't remember very well._

_All she really knew was that they couldn't stay. _

_She bites her lip in pain as she bends to gently help Maura lean back in a normal sitting position. The sight takes her breath. Not only is there blood in her hair, it's down the side of her face, her arm, and her bottom lip is even cracked. _

_No longer concerned about her own pain, she cups Maura's face and tries to rub the blood matted hair away from her face. "Come on, Maura. Wake up. It's…it's time to wake up."_

_Her voice is hardly louder than before, but it feels like she's screaming. This can't happen like this. They weren't ever supposed to leave each other. It can't end like this. Her fingers trail down Maura's cheek to her neck and tries to find a pulse. _

She jerks up off the bed, gasping for breath. "Maura. Where's…Maura?"

Strong hands push her back down against the bed and she tries to fight back, but after so long she hardly has any strength left. Her eyes squint against the bright lights as she whispers Maura's name over and over. No one will answer her; they just keep working on her side, the cut on her forehead.

It's beyond frustrating. Why the hell won't they answer her? She wants to cry, to cry and yell out Maura's name so loud that she hears her. But she's dehydrated. So very, very dehydrated. There's not anything left for her to even make tears with.

She groans as they prod her ribs and turn her for xrays. There's a prick in her arm and a prick in her forehead next to the open gash above her eyebrow. It was caked over and so thickly crusted with blood that she's surprised she didn't feel them scrubbing it down.

But that only makes her think of Maura—light hair turned stark red from the wound on the side of her head. She swallows thickly, conjuring up enough energy to grab the nurse's wrist beside her. Hazel eyes flick down to hers and for a moment, Jane forgets the pain. Those eyes…Maura's eyes.

The nurse gently rubs her arm to sooth her. "Just give me a minute and I'll go see what happened to your friend, okay?"

"Wife," she rasps out. "She's my wife."

A wave of sadness washes over the nurse's face and that makes Jane want to be able to cry even more. She _never_ cries and the one time she does…she's unable to. She'd laugh at the irony if it wouldn't hurt her dry, burning throat so much.

The nurse gently pats her hand and takes a step back from the bed, nodding quickly. "I'll…I'll go check, okay? I'm sure everything is fine."

But the small tremble in her voice tells Jane otherwise.

She turns her face back to look up at the ceiling. Unseeing, unmoving as she waits and waits for the news. Eventually the doctor's stop poking her, deciding that she only had three broken ribs that were no imminent danger to the lungs. There wasn't much they could do but tape them, so they did and set her up on an IV drip to rehydrate her before they leave.

Her fingers fumble for the glass of water on the table. She takes small sips, wincing with each incredibly painful swallow. It becomes too much and she has to set it back down, still waiting for that damn nurse.

She wants to get up, to walk and find Maura by herself. But as soon as she shifts, an overwhelming pain shoots up her side and her face goes pale; it's all she can do to not pass out. She didn't remember it hurting this badly. But then again, she had been in and out of consciousness for the past two days. There really wasn't much to remember.

She slowly lifts her tattered shirt away from her body. Between the tape her skin shows through, mottled deep purple and solid black. She's been injured many times, but never had she seen a bruise look like this. Her fingers start to graze the area when the click of the door makes her jump, immediately dropping her shirt.

Her face snaps up to see if it's the nurse yet, but it's not.

It's better.

Angela is standing at the door with Nicky by her side, his little fist clenched around on of her fingers. She had truly believed she would never see them again. This is almost overwhelming.

"Mama?" He whispers, lip already trembling. Apparently he had thought he'd never see her again, too.

Smiling, she nods. "Yeah, Nick, it's me."

He starts crying now and Angela picks him up to walk him to the edge of the bed. "Is it alright if…?"

Jane nods, grunting as she scoots over on the bed. "Yeah. This side is fine."

She drops him down to the bed and he instantly crawls over to bury his face in Jane's neck. She feels his hot tears on her skin and his tiny hands curled between them. She holds him as tight as she can; smelling the baby shampoo scent that he loves, feeling every muscle of his back ripple under her hand as he takes shuddering breaths. God, she's missed him. Missed him so incredibly much.

"I'm here now, okay? I've got you."

He slightly nods against her, cries slowly softening to whimpers. She clears her throat and looks up at Angela. "Ma…where is she?"

Jane doesn't need to say the name. Angela knows exactly who she means.

Jane's heart drops as she sees the tears welling in her mother's eyes. This can't be good.

This _can't_ be good.

She's not ready for this.

….

….


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I love hearing what everyone has to say. (: **

**I'm also feeling pretty sick, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. **

…

"Damnit, Ma," Jane hisses as she tries to pull herself upright in the bed. "You can't just start crying like that!"

Angela gently takes Nicky, picking him up so Jane can slowly swing her legs off the side of the bed. "We thought you had _died_, Janie. We were planning a funeral," she whispers through a broken sob, hand pressed to Nicky's ear so he can't hear. "I'm just so happy my girls are both alive. Is that so bad?"

"No, but didn't have to scare the hell out of me. Jesus, Ma."

She groans as she struggles to take a deep breath. Walking was decidedly _not_ going to be very fun. She yanks the IV drip from her arm and lets it fall off the side of the bed. If it was so damn important, they could redo it later. She just needed to go see her wife. _Now._

Her legs nearly buckle—lurching her whole body forward—as she raises herself from the bed. She's shaking all over from dehydration and her ribs are throbbing, pain stabbing her like a knife twisting deep inside her over and over again.

Face pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat already, she still makes sure to reach out and ruffle her son's hair in reassurance. "Stay here with Mimi. I'll be right back, okay?"

His brown eyes start to water and his lip trembles. "No, Mama. Let me go too," a small sob wracks his body, "Please let me see Mommy."

Her heart nearly shatters, only adding to the physical pain she already feels. She wants to take him. She really does. But she can't. It's too much for him to understand right now. He'll just have to wait until she's in a little less pain and can explain it a little better to him.

She takes a shaky step forward and Angela tries to follow. She turns, face set and arm held out between them. "No, Ma, I mean it. Stay here."

"But, Jan—"

"Stay. Here."

It must have been something in her eyes or the low tremble of her voice, because for once…Angela listens. She sits down, holding Nicky on her lap as he tries to struggle away and follow Jane.

The cries and pleas coming from her son is enough to almost kill her all over again. She wants to go back, wrap him up in her arms, and protect him from this. But she can't. She can give him a few more minutes of thinking everything will be okay though, and that's exactly what she does.

Her hand slides against the wall with each step she takes to help keep her upright. She glances in every room she passes until she finally gets to the right one. Breathing heavily from the effort it took to get there, she pushes open the door and stumbles inside.

Maura is pale, cheeks slightly hollowed in. Her hair is grungy—spread out around her in oily strips—and her arm is already wrapped in a temporary cast. Maura definitely looks worse now than she did before.

She takes a step in, waiting for those hazel eyes to look up. "Maura?"

"Jane." It's a breath of relief, a sigh. Maura knew she would eventually come.

She walks closer to the bed and gently takes Maura's good hand lightly in her own. She's close enough to see the cracks in her wife's lips; the small shaved area on the side of her head where a small, white steri-strip is placed. Ugly black stitches are surely protruding from her scalp beneath it.

"No one will even notice it."

Maura gives the tiniest of grins, fingers squeezing Jane's. "I'm not concerned with that. I'm just glad we are both here. Both alive."

Jane nods in acquiesce. By day four they weren't sure they were going to make it. A little part of them had even resigned themselves over to death.

She's really fucking glad it didn't end that way.

She carefully sits on the side of the bed beside her wife, lips ghosting Maura's temple. "I don't know what…" She has to pause to fight the burning lump in her throat. "God, I love you."

Her voice wasn't much more than a whisper and Maura repeats it back, over and over again as she finally lets herself start to cry. Jane is there though to wipe the tears away with her thumbs, gently stroking the pale skin of Maura's cheeks. She does it until there are no more tears to wipe and Maura's eyes start to flutter closed.

It's strenuous, but she starts to push herself up from the bed. It's in a hunkered over position that she freezes and Maura's eyes fly open.

There are hurried footsteps echoing down the hall and Angela's high pitched voice yelling out to stop them.

It doesn't work though.

Only moments later, Nicky appears in the doorway—freezing at the sight of his parents.

A smile blossoms across his face almost instantly. "Mommy!" He yells as he runs to the side of the bed. He uses the chair next to the bed to climb up and crawl onto Maura's lap. He wraps his arms tightly around her and presses his cheek to her own. "I missed you so much."

Maura's body instantly goes rigid—from pain or confusion, Jane isn't sure—and plants her arms firmly by her sides. She looks up at Jane with wide, panicked eyes.

Confused, Angela walks up beside Jane and takes in the sight. "What's…is she okay? Why is she doing that?"

Jane sighs, head turning away from Maura and Nicky to keep them from hearing her. She looks at Angela and shakes her head, whispering out the side of her mouth. "She doesn't remember him."

..

_Jane painfully lowers herself to the ground next to Maura to lean back against a fallen tree. She takes a few quick, shallow breaths to overcome the power in her side as she reaches up to wipe the sweat from her face with her forearm. Hours upon hours and she still hadn't found any water for them. Hopefully she'd strike a little luck tomorrow since the two bottles of water were sure to run out by the end of the day. Even she knew that they at least needed water to survive. _

_Her fingers dig at the dirt until she finds a rock before looking up at the ironically blue, peaceful sky. "You think they'll find us by Friday?"_

_Maura shrugs, tongue darting out to lick her dry lips. "Perhaps."_

_Jane slings the rock as far as she can with that ever-present ache in her side. "Nicky's gonna be disappointed that we missed his show."_

_She almost laughs at how _that _is what she's concerned with. But she doesn't. Because even when she may possibly be on the verge of death, her family will always come first. Always. _

_They have to get back to him. _

_Maura's brow furrows and she shifts a little towards Jane. "Who?"_

"_Uh, Nicky..." Maura blankly stares at her. "Our _son_."_

_Maura's head tilts, brow creasing even more. "Jane…we don't have a son."_

_Jane scoffs, arm flinging out in front of her. "What do you mean _we don't have a son_? Of course we fucking do." _

_Again, Maura says nothing._

"_Now is not the time to learn how to joke around, Maura. Especially not about something like that."_

"_I'm not." Maura reaches over and touches the area around the gash on Jane's forehead. "You could be suffering from a concussion or a case of sli—"_

"_Maura, you're the one with a head injury!" She points at the red, thick crust covering the side of her wife's head. "Not me."_

_Maura's eyebrows rise. "But I'm not the one that's hallucinating, am I?"_

_Jane scoffs. "Well, I'm sure as hell not either." Her eyes flick to their bag and she slowly inches towards it. "Hold on."_

_She pulls her phone off the top and holds it in the air. Still no service, but it's still charged enough to turn on. She scrolls through the pictures until she finds one of all three of them at Coney Island and holds it out. "See?"_

_Maura purses her lips in contemplation. "That could be any child, Jane."_

"_That looks just like me?"_

"_While I admit that he _does_ have some of your traits, you could simply be conjuring…" Maura trails off as Jane pulls up picture after picture of all three of them._

"_That is quite damning…but I still can't be certain unless—"_

"_Unless what? The lab confirms reddish-brown stain samples," Jane rolls her eyes and flips through her phone until she finds one of her wife's last birthday. Nicky is sitting on the counter holding a cake that says_ Happy Birthday Mommy _with Maura standing beside him, kissing his cheek. "How 'bout now?"_

_Maura blanches, swallows thickly. _

_Jane reaches out, lightly rubbing Maura's arm with her thumb. "Maura…what is the last thing you remember? Before the crash?"_

"_We…" Maura falters as she tries to think. "We were headed to my summer house in Maine."_

_She heavily sighs, scooting a little closer to Maura. "We went to that summer house six years ago, Maura."_

_Maura's eyes grow wide and her head shakes imperceptibly. "What?"_

"_Yeah," she nods, sympathy and concern written all over her face. "We've been married seven years. We have a kid. I'm lieutenant now. You're still—"_

"_No," Maura cuts her off in a firm, disbelieving voice. "No, there's…No, Jane."_

_Maura can't help the tears that start to flow. Jane holds her as tightly as she dares, knowing that _yes _this really was happening and having no idea what to do about it. _

_.._

"What?!"

"Shhh," Jane scowls as she looks to Nicky and back. "She doesn't remember the past six years, Ma. She has no idea who he is."

Angela's hands fly to her hips and she shrugs, clearly bewildered. "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. I'm not a doctor," she snaps back, immediately regretting flailing her arm as the pain wracks through her. She makes a note to not do that again for a while.

"She'll remember soon enough. She will," Angela reassures, hand gently rubbing Jane's upper arm.

She sighs. "I hope so."

Slowly, she turns back to the bed and looks at them. Maura is still unmoving, rigid and Nicky is gently cupping her face with a small smile on his face. "You'll feel better soon, Mommy."

Jane can only hope that's really true.

…

…..

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